


A Letter from Goldenbrook

by dianesmalone



Category: Cheers
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-05-01 17:33:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19182520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dianesmalone/pseuds/dianesmalone
Summary: While helping Diane unpack in their new home, Sam finds something he wasn’t ever meant to find. Set in season five.





	A Letter from Goldenbrook

Sam groans as he sets down three more of Diane’s boxes that he had carried in from the moving truck. “You know if I had known you had so much stuff I would’ve never moved in with you” he jokes.

He hadn’t realized just how many things she owned until it was all packed away in lots and lots of boxes. It was even more so apparent to him when he insisted on not hiring movers and doing it all himself. She did help with some things, taking in her clothing and jewelry. Items that especially needed to be handled with care. 

Diane walks over to Sam and brings her arms around his neck. “Oh come on... it’s not that much stuff” she counters.

He raises his eyebrows, “I just carried in about five boxes of books Diane. I’m pretty sure that’s not even all of your books either.”

“Well you can never have too many books” she replies, brushing it off with a shrug. 

“I’m not too sure about that sweetheart” he complains. 

“Would it make you feel better if I told you that you look very sexy bringing in all those boxes?”

Sam’s brows raise again, “oh really?” he always loved it when she called him sexy. It was a confidence boost. 

Diane gives her fiancé a smile and nods “mmm.. mmhm I’ve always loved a man with muscles” she replies as her finger begins to trace gently along his bicep. 

He begins to pull Diane closer to him, pressing their hips together. “Well if you like a strong man... I assure you this one will sweep you off your feet.”

She slowly leans in closer to him. The two were just inches apart. God she wanted to kiss him so badly. “Do you know what’s even sexier?” Diane questions. 

Sam stares down at her lips, tempted to bring his to hers so they could stop talking and let their passion speak instead. His eyes travel back up to hers and he shakes his head in return. 

“You... helping me... unpack by putting some of my books away in the bookshelf we put up” she smiles. 

“Damn it Diane you really had me going there” he whines as she pulls away from him. 

She laughs and presses a quick kiss to his cheek, “I’m going to be upstairs organizing our room. Let me know if you need anything.”

Sam nods and holds on to Diane’s hand until she’s completely walked away. Even then he watches as she disappears up the stairs. 

He smiles as he makes his way over to the boxes that were sitting in the living room and begins to get to work.

Twenty minutes later, as Sam is taking out one of Diane’s book he notices an envelope slide out of it and fall toward the ground. That makes him furrow his brows so he leans down and picks it up. On it read his name, in Diane’s handwriting which made him even more confused. 

Thinking that since it had his name on it, he should probably open it— he does just that. Though the letter isn’t what he was thinking it would be. It was different. 

The letter read:

Dear Sam, 

You will probably never read this. That’s good. What I’m about to write in this letter will most likely hurt you. But you’ll never read this letter because I’m never going to see you again. 

We broke up three months ago. My mind has been a mess for a long time, not just since our breakup. However, our break up led me to this place in my mind where I no longer feel like myself. That’s why I checked myself in here at Goldenbrook. 

I can’t remember the last time I cried this much. I never felt like half of a person until I lost you. Everyday I feel like there’s something inside of me that’s missing. My soul aches to have you by my side but I know that can’t happen. 

I think what hurts me the most is how badly you treated me. I won’t say that you were the worst boyfriend I’ve ever had, because you’re not. But you hurt me in ways I’ve never been hurt before. I cried many nights because of you. 

My mind goes back to so many different times. When you forgot my birthday and tried to make up for it with a meaningless gift. I suppose it was the thought of even trying to make up for it that counts.

I remember when you left me after our first night together. I thought maybe we could spend the day together but instead you decided to go to a football game. I cried probably more than I should’ve over that. 

Still, after that happened I gave you another chance. I gave you chance after chance and you continued to break my heart. 

Like when you gave me steak knives as a Christmas gift. I know your heart was in the right place but as your lover I hoped for more. Something special that held meaning to only us. Unfortunately I was wrong. 

When you lied to me about your ski trip with your buddies. You said it was a funeral. Even though I knew the entire time that you were lying and I gave you hell for it, the fact that you felt the need to lie hurt. It still does. 

Sometimes I wish that I didn’t love you. 

That’s the problem, I still do. I know it’s wrong to and my psychiatrist encourages me to forget about you. To move on with my life and be happy.

I know that’s what I deserve, but it’s hard. You certainly broke my heart in more ways than one but you also made me feel ways I never felt before. 

I want to move on from you. I’ve tried and I’m still trying but it’s hard. I don’t know when I’ll be able to hear your name and not feel like crying. I hope that’s soon. 

I hope this breakup opened your eyes. I hope that the next woman you become serious with is treated as if she is royalty. I know you’re capable of doing that. You made me feel like the luckiest woman alive at certain points in our relationship. I hope she knows that she’s loved. Please do this not just for me but for yourself too. Please give your next serious lover the world and more. 

Thank you for coming into my life, Sam. My heart still aches everyday but I hope soon to feel better. You opened my eyes to what love can be. And what it shouldn’t be. I wish you everything good in life. 

Love,  
Diane

As Sam finishes reading her letter he sits there staring at it. He could feel his stomach begin to twist, beginning to grow nauseous. 

Sam had never felt so awful over anything before. They had discussed a few of things Diane had told her group therapy about him. Those being mentioned in the letter didn’t surprise him. Sam wasn’t surprised by the letter either, he knew that he had broken Diane’s heart. 

However it broke his heart reading about how upset she was. He never even considered how hard their breakup must’ve been for her. Or that she cried almost everyday about how terrible he had been and their breakup. 

He wasn’t the same person that he had been when they first met but knowing these things made him want to run to her and tell her how much he loved her. That he was so sorry for what happened. Sam badly wanted to erase everything terrible he had done. 

He badly wanted to get up from his spot, but Sam felt as if he was paralyzed and couldn’t move. His mind was going a million miles a second. Different things she had said in the letter running through his mind. Memories of how terrible he had been flooding to the surface. He doesn’t even notice when Diane steps into the room.

“Hey Sam, do you think you could help me with a few things? I just want to be sure you like how our room is going to look. I need your input” she asks while walking in. She didn’t realize at first that he wasn’t paying any attention. 

No response comes so she furrows her brows, “Sam?” The blonde begins to take several steps closer toward him. Now her heart rate was beginning to pick up. Was something wrong? Did something happen to him when she left the room? 

“Sam what’s wrong?” Diane questions, beginning to lean down to his level as she finally reaches him. 

It takes a couple more seconds for Sam to pull his mind out of where it was and back to her. He then holds up the letter, “it fell out of one of your books when I was going to it put away. I read it because it had my name on the envelope” he explains.

Confused at first, Diane takes the letter and the moment she reads the first line her stomach drops. Oh no. He wasn’t supposed to read this letter, ever. This was her just writing out how she felt so that maybe she’d feel a little better. It was something her psychiatrist recommended for the days when she couldn’t go in and see him. 

“Sam I—“ Diane begins.

Before she can even continue he cuts her off. Sam’s gaze meets hers at last and he begins to speak. “Before you say anything I just want say something. I don’t want you to apologize for writing the letter. I hurt you and you have every right to express that. I guess I never really thought about how much I actually hurt you. I knew those instances you mentioned... Christmas, our first night together, our break up. I knew those all hurt you but I didn’t even consider that you cried all of the time because of them... because of me.

“I’m really sorry for hurting you. I know that it’s been almost four years now and we’ve moved forward but I am sorry. I don’t have any excuses for the way I acted. I was an asshole. I know sometimes I’m still hard to handle. I was an idiot who didn’t know anything about being in a serious relationship. I was terrified of how much I was falling for you and I was way in over my head. Those aren’t any excuses I know. I shouldn’t have acted how I did. I’m sorry. I wasn’t lying when I said the good times with you were some of the best of my life. They were and continue to be. I hope you know I’m not the same person anymore... and I know our relationship is a work in progress everyday. I’m grateful that you even consider sticking by my side. I hope you can forgive me.”

Sam wasn’t sure he had ever apologized so much to anyone in his life. He felt beyond awful for what he had done to her. He wanted to apologize a thousand more times for it. 

Diane looks at him for a moment and holds back the tears wanting to fall. She knew it would be okay. “I don’t like to think about the bad times of our relationship because you did hurt me. Especially in the beginning. With that being said, I know you’ve grown. I’ve seen it. I forgive you for all of the terrible things you did. I know that in some way it made both of us better people. It made our relationship stronger too. Thank you for your apology, for being honest with me. I appreciate it more than you know” Diane assures. 

His hand reaches over and slowly takes hers. “I do love you” Sam murmurs.

She nods and presses a gentle kiss to his hand. “I know you do. I love you too.”

Diane then stands back up and brushes off her dress. Slowly, she lets out a breath. She felt somewhat drained from talking about their past. Maybe she needed some time by herself. “I’m going to head upstairs and take a shower. We can discuss our room later.”

Sam looks up at his fiancée and he nods. It was probably best that both of them spent some time to themselves. Opening old wounds was never enjoyable. 

He climbs to his feet and takes a step in front of Diane, taking her hand again. The tall brunette then leans down and presses a kiss to her forehead. With that, Sam takes a step back and gives her a small smile. 

Diane looks up at him, her gaze growing soft. She had planned on spending the rest of the night to herself but she couldn’t bring herself to leave. “Oh...” she murmurs and then grabs her fiancé and pulls him into a hug. 

His embrace was a lot better than being alone. Diane had forgiven Sam long ago and she wasn’t going to let this put any strain on their relationship.

Sam’s eyebrows slightly raise from her sudden hug. He wasn’t expecting that. After a few more seconds though he brings his arms around Diane and lets out a breath that he didn’t notice he was holding in. 

Sam closes his eyes as he holds Diane tightly in his arms. It was hard to learn that he had caused her more pain than he could’ve ever imagined. It would take a little while for him to fully accept that everything was okay now and she forgave him. Until then, he was going to do his absolute best to be a good fiancé. Diane deserved nothing less.

The two continue to quietly hold each other for awhile longer. Neither wanting to let go. Opening up old wounds was tough but it managed to bring them closer. They were going to be okay, just as they always would be.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This one is slightly different. I thought that it was important to acknowledge some of the shitty things Sam did and just how he wasn’t the best boyfriend ever. I think it’s important to know and understand that their relationship was very flawed especially in the beginning. But they had beautiful development as a couple and as characters. Also I wanted to show a little more of how he felt about it and realizing the shit he had done. Anyway, sorry for rambling a little here. I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
